BlackRock — The Asset Manager at the Centre of Global Capital

BlackRock, Inc. is an American investment-management company based in New York and registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an investment adviser.
According to its 2024 annual report and SEC filings, BlackRock ended the year managing about $ 11.6 trillion in client assets as of 31 December 2024.
The company manages capital on behalf of institutions and individuals worldwide. In its SEC filing, it describes itself as a fiduciary to clients, meaning it invests their assets across markets while acting in their interest.
Client funds include pension plans, insurance companies, sovereign-wealth funds, and retail investors who access BlackRock products through mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The firm earns fees as a percentage of assets under management (AUM) and additional revenue from its technology-services business, led by the Aladdin platform.

Structure of the Business

Index and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
BlackRock’s iShares brand dominates the global ETF market, offering passive portfolios that mirror indices such as the S&P 500 and MSCI World. These products account for a large share of total AUM and remain the company’s most visible brand.

Active Strategies and Private Markets
Beyond passive investing, BlackRock runs active portfolios that seek to outperform benchmarks and manage exposure to real estate, infrastructure, and private credit. These private-market businesses are expanding steadily, contributing to higher-margin growth.

Technology and Solutions (Aladdin)
Aladdin — short for Asset, Liability, Debt, and Derivative Investment Network — is the firm’s proprietary platform for portfolio management, trading, and risk analysis. It is used internally and licensed externally to institutions worldwide. Technology revenue, primarily from Aladdin, totalled around 1.6 billion US dollars in 2024 according to management statements.

Cash and Liquidity Management
BlackRock also manages short-term liquidity portfolios and money-market funds for corporate and institutional clients seeking low-risk capital solutions.

Geographical and Client Segments

BlackRock’s 2024 filings report long-term AUM divided broadly among

• ETFs (iShares): around 4.2 trillion US dollars
• Institutional mandates (active and index): around 5.3 trillion US dollars
• Retail products (mutual funds and others): around 1.0 trillion US dollars
• Cash management portfolios: around 0.9 trillion US dollars

Pension funds account for the largest share of institutional mandates, followed by insurance, corporate, and official institutions. By geography, AUM distribution remains dominated by the Americas (about two-thirds of total), followed by EMEA and Asia-Pacific.

Market Position and Trends

BlackRock remains the world’s largest asset manager. A Reuters report from January 2025 noted total AUM of 11.55 trillion US dollars and net inflows of 641 billion US dollars for 2024.
The firm continues to broaden its revenue mix by expanding private markets investment, sustainable finance offerings, and technology services. These initiatives reflect an industry-wide shift from fee compression in traditional index funds toward technology and advisory income streams.

Corporate Governance and Ownership

Because many BlackRock products track major indices, the company often appears among the top shareholders of listed corporations. These holdings represent client assets, not proprietary ownership. Voting and stewardship are conducted in accordance with published policies, and since 2023, specific institutional clients have been able to cast votes directly through the Voting Choice programme.

Real Estate Exposure

BlackRock operates global institutional real estate and infrastructure funds, focusing on commercial, multifamily, and large-scale infrastructure assets.
A 2024 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that institutional investors collectively hold a small fraction of the U.S. single-family rental market but higher shares in specific cities. The report did not list BlackRock among the major single-family rental operators, confirming that its real estate exposure lies primarily in institutional-scale vehicles rather than direct residential holdings.

Capital Allocation

In 2024, BlackRock returned 4.7 billion US dollars to shareholders — 3.1 billion in dividends and 1.6 billion through share repurchases — while continuing to invest in technology and data infrastructure.

Outlook

BlackRock’s scale and global reach give it a systemic role in modern finance. With more than $ 11 trillion in assets under management, it connects governments, corporations, and individuals to the capital markets that shape global growth.
The company is diversifying into private markets and technology solutions to reduce dependence on traditional index fees — a strategy likely to define its next phase of expansion as digital tools and data become integral to asset management.

Sources

BlackRock 2024 Annual Report (December 31, 2024)
U.S. SEC Form 10-K (2024)
BlackRock Earnings Release (January 2025)
Reuters (15 Jan 2025) – “BlackRock Assets Hit Record USD 11.55 Trillion”
Markets Media (2024) – “Private Markets and Technology to Grow Revenue Share”
U.S. Government Accountability Office (2024) – Institutional Investments in Single-Family Rentals